national ins no required

[royzart]

Why does my bank require my national insurance
number when opening an isa savings account...?

[sunny-dave]

To check that you are not opening multiple ISAs which total above the yearly limit.

[Fitzer]

Because you're only allowed one per year and your Nat Ins number is how they check.

[ubasses]

It is a Government requirement, it is used to check that people do not open more than one ISA per year

[sunny-dave]

Also possibly part of their checks to reduce 'money laundering'

[Old_Geezer]

So the taxman can tell what you're up to ?

[1eyedjack]

It does raise an interesting point. Not every citizen in this country is required to have a National Insurance Number. Most are automatically issued one when they reach 16. An immigrant is only required to apply for one when they start to become liable to contribute to the NI system (or take up employment where an employer is liable to contribute).

And yet as far as I am aware (happy to be corrected) there is nothing in the legislation to bar such individuals who have no NI No from opening an ISA. Arguably they are disenfranchised by procedure.

[cathfromsaron]

no, you must be a UK citizen to have that product.

[woofgang]

if you aren'ta taxpayer, there is no point in having an ISA

[Maydup]

Although you can sometimes get best rates via an ISA even if you are a non-taxpayer

[cathfromsaron]

no ISAs have gone rubbish and the 'benefits' are worthless!

[1eyedjack]

@cathfromsaron
I try to kepe an open mind, so I am willing to be persuaded that my earlier post was inaccurate. So far, though, I see no evidence to that effect.
A qualifying investor is regulated by the Individual Savings Account Regulations 1998 (as amended) (SI 1998 no. 1870, wherein it states (reg 10(2)(d)(i)) that it is sufficient that the investor be resident and ordinarily resident in the UK. Such an individual has no necessary compulsion to possess an NI number unless and until sadi individual falls to be chargeble to NIC.
http://www.tisa.uk.co.../42_ISARegs_2011B.pdf
With kind regards

[1eyedjack]

@woofgang
I tend to agree with you. The charges on the ISA would tend to make the investment unattractive to a non-taxpayer. I am not sure what point is being made, though. No-one in this thread has yet suggested that a non-taxpayer might be interested.

[boxtops]

Your NI number is required as a single identifier for a lot of things now. I was surprised to be asked for my NI number when I made a PPI claim (until I realised that any interest awarded is subject to tax :-(

[1eyedjack]

There are other anomalies. If you don't have an NI number there is no facility for you to appoint an agent to act on your behalf in corresponding with HMRC. That is in practice rather more serious a problem than a handfull of individuals wanting an ISA.
With kind regards

[1eyedjack]

Incidentally, as a side issue, the total number of active NI numbers exceeds the qualifying population by many thousands. I don't have the actual figures to hand but I think it is in 5 figures. There is a substantial population wandering around with two NI numbers (I wonder if there is anyone with three?). Anyway, it would be interesting to know whether any of them have managed to double up their ISA quota.